London, UK — Equities First Holdings, LLC (EFH), a global lender and a leader in shareholder financing solutions, is pleased to announce that Dr. Drew Nelson, chief executive of IQE plc, has concluded a financing agreement into which he entered with EFH in 2014.

EFH has returned all underlying collateral to Dr. Nelson, which at repatriation are valued at more than £23.5 million, a 780% increase in value from when the transaction was executed in October 2014.

Background on the transaction
On 14 October 2014, IQE notified the AIM market that Dr. Nelson had pledged 18 million shares to EFH in return for a cash loan of £1.865m. The proceeds were used to purchase additional shares of IQE and satisfy tax and National Insurance payable on the exercise of share options. The 18 million shares were worth £23,580,000 at repayment.

“This is exactly what Equities First is here to do for its clients,” said EFH Founder and CEO Al Christy, Jr. “By offering market-leading terms at a fair margin and a fixed three-year timeframe, EFH borrowers can access capital against their stock to meet immediate capital needs without forfeiting future economic opportunity. For the past 15 years EFH has delivered these types of opportunities to clients around the globe, and we look forward to continuing to serve our clients in the years to come.”

Background on EFH loan structures
EFH is a specialist lender which provides competitive value cash loans to publicly quoted company shareholders collateralised by portions of their holdings. The loan term is typically three years, which allows EFH to manage the position for value over a reasonable time frame. EFH contractually pledges not to lend out or short sell during that time, and all market activities are executed to have no impact on stock price or trading volumes.

When the loan matures and is repaid, EFH returns the shares, allowing the borrower to keep all the upside growth in the share price during the period. The loans are non-recourse, which means that the borrower does not provide security in respect to their other assets.

“Clients in the U.K. and Europe have accessed funding from EFH for a wide range of purposes,” said Jeff Smith, Senior Managing Director of Equities First Holdings, LLC. “The key for them is the ability to retain their interest in the underlying shares and full exposure to any upside. EFH has a perfect track record of returning borrower collateral on maturity and repayment, regardless of how much the shares have increased in value.”

“On the back of arrangements such as these, EFH has seen attractive growth in the European markets, led through our London office,” continued Christy. “As European clients become increasingly familiar with the EFH methodology we expect to see a further increase in the number of transactions we conduct here.”

About Equities First Holdings
Since 2002, Equities First Holdings, LLC has provided clients with innovative financing solutions, supplying capital against publicly traded stock to enable clients to meet their personal and professional financial goals. EFH provides capital against shares traded on public exchanges around the world while offering clients competitive loan-to-value rates and low costs of capital. Over the past 5 years, EFH has completed more than 500 transactions and deployed more than $1.4 billion (USD) to clients across the globe.

EFH is a global company with offices in 10 countries, including wholly owned subsidiaries Equities First (London) Limited, Equities First Holdings Hong Kong Limited, Equities First Holdings Singapore Limited, and Equities First Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd. For more information, visit http://www.equitiesfirst.com.

DISCLAIMER
This release is intended for professional investors use only, and does not constitute an offer, stated or implied, of any type. Equities First Holdings, LLC and all of its subsidiaries work exclusively with individuals classified as Professional or sophisticated investors. The Equities First Holdings platform is not intended for retail investors.